


Future Nostalgia

by Mangerine



Category: World Trigger (Anime & Manga)
Genre: M/M, light angst but don't feel sorry for these big babies, mutual pining but they're too stubborn to do anything about it, only honest when drunk, simultaneously pre-relationship and post-breakup
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:35:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24158971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mangerine/pseuds/Mangerine
Summary: Tachikawa's hobby is minding his own business, but when Jin calls, drunk with information, he picks up anyway.
Relationships: Jin Yuuichi/Tachikawa Kei
Kudos: 28





	Future Nostalgia

**Author's Note:**

> Fished out of my notes app from 25 October 2018. I do cherish these two being absolutely useless about each other.

"Three months,"

"Sorry?"

Whoever invented caller ID understood humans on a level so grand most would term it "genius".

Seeing his phone light up with Jin's name had Tachikawa first surprised, a Christmas gift with airholes after sending Santa a request for kittens; Then fear: Maybe Santa sent hornets instead.

Ring! Suspicion! Ring! Curiousity! Ring! Worry! Ring!

Tachikawa picks up before the call ends.

"Three months," Jin repeats, before a harsh crunch of static sighs through the receiver. Out of breath, he sounds just-awake and seconds away from fainting into sleep all at once.

Tachikawa drags the volume slider to maximum and lays it on the sofa. If he strains, he can hear Jin's breath hopping, uneven and strained. There’s something spineless about having this conversation on loudspeaker, but it’s Jin, he’s not ready to have his voice by his ear again.

"Three months till what?"

There is a pregnant pause that stills even the room on Tachikawa's end. He half wonders if Jin has fallen asleep.

"Jin, are you drunk?"

"Mmnnmsnxcjs" The voice clatters, another spurt of agitation before Jin's indignant (and clearly intoxicated) voice comes through.

"Y'am not!"

"Ok," Tachikawa says, finding that he can't quite get back to what he was doing. Jin's the sort of person he clears his schedule to deal with. Either that or drop everything to spin in his orbit like he does now. One day he'll learn to use caller ID. He should have blocked him like Ren suggested.

"Ok,” he repeats, “three months till what?"

Three months is next year. The pinchy cold of January that wasn't defrosting fast enough for Tachikawa. The lazy, sluggish after party of New Years that kept him home or had him in bed with a fever. What did Jin know about then?

"Tillwgebnjtgr"

Tachikawa could laugh. He shouldn’t have picked up. He’s so happy Jin called. One of them had to crack eventually, they reasoned, keeping each other’s contacts and sleeping with the phone by their pillow.

"Till what?" He asks, wondering how much Jin had to drink that night. He was too smart to drink more than a few polite sips at company parties, with Suwa and the baudy others. He knows Tamakoma keeps their end-of-year parties kid-friendly. Was he drinking for courage tonight?

"Till we get back together." Jin answers, voice close and breathy near the phone.

"That soon?" Tachikawa replies, content to be sober for this conversation. Jin enjoyed his secrets, enjoyed his visions and hallucinations and peering at people's futures with his magic eyes. Tachikawa never asked; he makes it a point to only ask questions he wants answers to.

"It's been three years." Jin replies, whining in an even voice. Tachikawa has long learnt to see intent behind tone.

So it has. Jin makes it sound long, but between work and the other sundries of life Tachikawa never felt the hurt keenly. He suspects Jin would agree, when he was sober.

There were nights he drank that never seemed to end. Tachikawa sneaks ginger ale to every party and rations one glass of beer through the night.

He was supposedly what you'd call a bad boyfriend - unmeticulous with the half-truths and unfinished stories Jin shared, impassive of the million anxieties he saw. They rarely had time for dates, and back when they were 16 and 17 respectively, hardly the budget.

They both had memories of sieves. Tachikawa can't remember their anniversary, how he fell in love, when they lost their virginities to each other, or how they fell apart.

Things just happened around Jin / Jin just made things happen.

That’s another reason he’s an awful partner, pretending what they had was just an elaborate play orchestrated by Jin. 

His friends would disagree, but he’s not stupid enough. He still notices the way Jin looks at him, still makes a point to look back and smile for him. Jin still says jump and Tachikawa says no when he's already in the air, as high as Jin wants him.

When they stopped talking (Who knows when? It just happened.) Tachikawa understood the silent _for now_ Jin promised.

Now that Jin is keeping his promise, Tachikawa hears the silent _for now_ Jin is suggesting. He’s not ready, he’s reaching his hand out for Jin.

Tachikawa doesn't ask what's in the dark. Jin lies through his teeth any way. Tachikawa doesn't need answers the same way Jin doesn't need trust. If he keeps his mouth shut, Jin can keep the room bright and the play going. Tachikawa can see the sunlit skies in Jin's eyes. Jin can have his jumping fool back, for what,

Tachikawa doesn't ask. Neither say love. Neither let go.

"Alright," Tachikawa repeats. "Three months."

"It was January," Jin slurs. "Three years and five months. That's what I saw."

"Alright." Tachikawa confirms. He doesn’t ask when Jin sees it ending. It doesn’t matter – whenever it does, he’s giving his phone to Tsukimi to block him on every existing social media. 

"Before then," Jin chases, "you c-"

The hard C of a "can't" sobers him. That won't work, not with Tachikawa. What would? Jin doesn’t remember, he has to try, this can’t fail again.

"The Christmas party, are you going?" Jin switches suddenly. The alcohol makes him a legible character, Tachikawa reads him easily even through a black screen. It’s too obvious, right out his mouth. He’s had too much to drink.

"Don't talk to other guys until January?" Tachikawa completes.

"...."

"Girls too?"

"Goodnight." Jin says suddenly, and Tachikawa laughs as his phone brightens, recording that he and his ex just made a three-month game plan in five minutes. He can’t wait. Maybe they won’t ruin it all this time round.

"So that happened." Izumi says, after half a beat.

"So who's going to tell Jin you put him on speaker while playing Gario Kart?" Kunichika asks, starting a new game and rushing to reserve her favourite character, a chubby mushroom.

"No one." Kazama replies, orders, really. "And Tachikawa, you're not going to that party."

“Sure I am,”

“No, you aren’t, I’ve had enough of the both of you,”

“All the more reason to attend every party before January,” Tachikawa sighs, reaching for his controller.

“You both need therapists,” Kazama grumbles, snatching the controller from Tachikawa, who opens his phone contacts to change Kazama’s name to “Marriage Counselor (stethoscope emoji)”

(Jin calls the next morning. Tachikawa sees his name on caller ID and puts the phone face down.)

**Author's Note:**

> tachijin is still a top-tier ship but they probably have a relationship counselor that does house calls.


End file.
